Bumper



E. T. MATHEWSON.

BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. H. I921.

1 397,224, Patented Nov. 15, 192K.

2 SHEETS-SHEET L E. T. MATHEW'SON.

BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. II, I92I.

Patented NQV. 15, 2 SHEETSMSHEETZ.

w I III ii linLii. m

v p r ERNEST T. MATHEWSON, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

BUMPER.

To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, ERNEST T. MATHEW- son, a.citizen of the United States, and a resident of Buffalo, Erie county,State of New York, have invented ccrtaih new and useful Improvements inBumpersg of which the following is a specificatio This invention relatesto an improvement in bumpers for vehicles and particularly to springbumpers adapted for use on automobiles and to means for attachingsuclrdnunpers thereon.

One object of this invention is to-provide a bumper comprising a singlecontinuous spring bar having its ends bent reversely and inwardly.

Another object is to provide a bumper having cumulative resistancefunctions so that it will absorb both light and heavy shocks.

A further object is to provide a bumper having separate shock absorbingmeans, one to resist light shocks and the other to resist heavy shocks.

A still further object is to provide a bumper having means to resistlight shocks and also means to reinforce said first named means so thatboth means will cooperate to resist heavy shocks.

A still further object is to provide means by which the bumper can beattached to any automobile quickly and without previous preparation ofthe part of the automobile to which it is attached.

Another object is to provide a plurality of equally spaced holes intheparts of the bumper so that they can be assembled in any desiredadjustment.

Further objects of the invention will appear from a consideration of thespecification and the drawings which form a part thereof and in Which-Figure 1 represents one embodiment of this invention attached to anautomobile;

Figs. 2 to 5 represent diagrammatically other embodiments of thisinvention.

Fig. (3 represents a cross section of one form of bumper attachingbrackets mounted on an automobile;

Figv 7 rcprescnts a side view of the bracket taken on the lincf7-7 ofFig. (3.

Fig. 8 discloses another form of bumper attaching brackets. v

Fig. i) is a view of the attaching bracket on a larger scale than Fig. 8and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1921.

' on which the bar 14 is Patented NOV-15,1921. Serial No. 436,539.

Fig. 10 isa section taken along tne line l0l0 of Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral 10 designates thesidebars of an automobile to which the bumper is attached. These side barsare customarily of channeled metal having inwardlyprojecting upper andlower flanges l1 and 12. Onlyone end or horn of the side bars to whichthe springs are secured is shown.

The bumper 13 comprises a continuous spring bar 14 having its ends 15bent reversely and inwardly, and two supports 16 mounted. Each of thesupports 16 is fastened to a side bar 10 by brackets 17 and extendsoutwardly beyond the juncture of the bar 14. The ends of the supports asshown in Fig. 1 have a. part 18 parallel to the bar 14- and two bends 19and 20. The parts 18 are within the horns 21 of the bar 14 formed by thebent ends 15 and hence when the spring bar 14 is bent inward under. ablow the ends ofthe supports will take up the shock. In other words theends of the supports being normally out of contact, the bar H-alone'will resist light shocks but under a heavy shock the bar is forcedback against the parts 18 of the supports which will then cooperate withit.

The supports '10 instead of having the shaped ends shown in Fig. 1 mayhave the curved contour shown in Figs. 2 and 5 or the straight linecontourshown in Figs. 3 and 4. The ends of the bar Li are secured to thesupports 16 behind the curved outer ends and the portions of the supportinwardly from the point of connection are straight so that all portionsof the bumper which yield under a direct blow are beyond the point ofconnection. The bends if) of the supports it are shown. substantialiyin. line wi the inner side of the horns it) so that the spare tire canbe mounted between them when the bumper is on the rear of the car. litwill be noted that the. supports coiiperate with the bar 14in each assand it is obvious that the invention is by no means limited to the constructions here illustrated. The bumper supports are firmly attached tothe side bars 10 by means of suitable brackets. Two forms are heredisclosed. In that shown in Figs. 1. (S and, 7, which the preferredform. two separate brackets are employed for each support.

These brackets 1'? are quickly and rigidiy extending slots 28 andattached to the ends of the side bars 10 in any desired position withoutthe necessity of any prior preparation of the bars, The brackets 17 eachcomprise a face portion 22 having two parallel flanges 23.. Each flange23 has an edge 24 parallel to the face portion 22, an edge 25 at rightangles to edge 24 and an inclined edge 26 connecting edge 25 with theface portion 22. That portion is slightly bent at 27 and haslongitudinally In mounting the bra ket the edges 24: are placed againstthe side of the bar .10 with the edges. 25 against the bottom flange 12.A. hooked rod 30 passed through the s ot 28 is hooked over the inneredge of the flange 12 and the bracket is clamped in place by a nut 31threaded onto the rod outside the face portion 22.

The supports 16 are secured to the brackets by bolts 32 passed throughthe slots 29 and holes 33 in the supports. A plurality of these holes 33equally spaced are provided in the supports 16, and similarly spacedholes 3% are provided in the ends of the bar 1+l,the latter beingfastened to the supports by bolts 35 through the holes and 34:. Thisarrangement permits the easy adjustment of the space between the primarybump receiving means 14: and the secondary bump receiving means 16, andalso furnishes another way to regulate the distance the bumper projectsfrom the vehicle. An' up or down adjustment is permitted by the form ofthe slots 29.

The second form of attaching bracket referred to above is showl in Figs.8, 9 and 10 and comprises, in contradistinction to the first form, aunitary plate carrying two bolts by which the support 16 is rigidlyheld. This type of bracket, like the first, requires no priorpreparation of the side bars and is clamped to the side bars at threetriangulated points, any two of which will resist a blow from anydirection.

The bracket .40 has a body plate 11 plane on the outer side to which thebumper support 16 is secured. Projecting inwardly at each end of theplate are flanges 42 and at the ,center is a vertical boss 43. At thehottom of the plate are ears 44 having holes 45 through which fasteningrods 46 pass. The rods 46 are hooked at their inner ends 4:7 for apurpose to be described later and are threaded at their outer ends forthe nuts 48. Curved slots 49 are provided in the body plate 41 for thebumper holding bolts 50. Through the boss 43 extends a rod 51 the upperend 52 of which is bent at right angles and then bent downwardly atright angles as shown in Fig. ll). At the lower end of the rod is athreaded. nut

In attaching the bumper to the vehicle the support 16 is first fastenedby the bolts 50 to the plate 41.- Since the bolts are in the curvedslots 49 the angle. and the resultant height of the bumper can be fixedas desired. The bracket is now fastened to the born 10 by booking theends of the rods 46 over the flanges 12 and tightening the nuts 48.Finally in order to prevent slipping of the bracket on the horn under ablow to the bumper the end 52 of the rod 1 is lamped against the upperside of the flange 11 by the nut Since the rods 46 and 51 are adjustablethey will adapt themselves to side tralne bars of varying sizes thuseliminating the necessity of providing a diilcrent bracket for eachsize. l urthermore the distance of the bumper ahead of the vehicle canbe regulated by fastening the bracket at any point 10 in spite of thefact that the height and width of the bar increases.

The drawings show a term of vehicle in which the side bars extend beyondthe tenders so that there .will be no diilicnlty in mounting thebrackets on the horns. Should, however, the side bars not extend beyondthe tenders either form of bracket could be used. The first form titsentirely below the upper edge of the horn and will thus be below thetender. The second form, however, by rein along the side bar son of therod 51 requires that a hole be .r

made through the fender so it can. be clamped against the upper side ofthe upper flange.

ll 'hile several embodiments have been shown and described it will beunderstood that the invention is by no means limited thereby and thatothers may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as new and for which Idesire the protection of Letters Patent is;

1. A bumper for vehicles having primary bump receiving means andsupporting means, said first named means comprising a spring barextending transversely of the vehicle and having ends bent reversely andinwardly toward the vehicle toward and joined to said supporting means,the ends of said supporting means extending outwardly beyond the pointsof front portion of said spring bar to form secondary bump receivingmeans.

2. A bumper for vehicles comprising a bump receiving spring barextending trans versely of the vehicle and having its ends bentreversely and inwardly toward said vehicle, supporting plates mounted onsaid vehicle and extending toward the spring bar, andmeans fastening theends of said spring bar to said supporting means, the ends of saidsupporting means being normally out of contact with said bar.

joinder toward the mamas I I 3. A bumper for vehicles having primarybump receiving means and supporting means, said first named meanscomprising a spring bar extending transversely of the vehicle, the endsoi, said bar being bentreversely and inwardly toward the vehicle,

said second named means being mounted on said vehicle and extendingtoward the spring bar, the portion of each supporting means adjacent thevehicle being straight, and means fastening the ends of the spring barto said straight portions. I

4. A bumper for vehicles having primary bump receiving means andsecondary bump the receiving means, said first named means comprising aspring bar extending transverselyof the vehicle and having its ends bentreversely and inwardly, and said secondary means comprising two platesmounted on said vehicle and curved at the outer ends to form bumpreceiving portions substantially parallel to and in the rear of saidspring bar, and means joining said first means to said plates at pointsbehind said curved portions.

5. A bumper for vehicles comprising a spring bar, supports" to whichsaid bar is connected, said supports being fastened to the side bars ofthe vehicle, each end of said bar ,and said supports being provided witha longitudinally extending series of equally spaced holes and boltspassed through certain of said holes in said bar and said supports forjoining said parts and through other of said holes in said supports forf astening said supports to the vehicle side bars. In a bumper adaptedto be mounted on side bars of vehicles, a spring bar, supporting platesto which the ends of said bar are connected, each ofsaid plates beingprovided with a row of equally spaced holes, and each end of said barbeing provided with a similar row of holes, said ends being locatedagainst the plates so that any desired sets of holes will coincide,bolts through certain of the coinciding holes for positively securingthe parts in such position, and

means for fixing said plates to the side bars.

7. In a bumper adapted to be mounted on the side bars of vehicles, aspring bar, supporting plates to which the ends of said bar areconnected, each of said plates being provided with a row of equallyspaced holes, and each end of said bar being provided with a similar rowof holes, said ends being located against the plates so that any desiredsets of holes will coincide, bolts through certain of the coincidingholes for positively securing the parts in such position, and meansincluding bolts throu'gh certain of said holes in said supporting platesfor fixing them to the side bars.

8. In a bumper adapted to be mounted upon the side bars of a vehicle, aspring bar, supporting plates to which the ends of said bar areconnected, said plates projecting beyond the side bars of the vehicle,brackets fixed to said side bars, each bracket having two horizontallyspaced bolts projecting from the outer face, and each of said supportingplates having a row of holes spaced the same distance apart as the boltson said brackets, through certain of which holes the bolts project whenthe plates and brackets are assembled, whereby the amopnt of projectionof said plates can be varied b theselection of the sets of holes througwhich said bolts shall project, and means for fixing said plates to saidbrackets. I

9. Means for attaching a bumper to the channeled side bar of anautomobile comprising a flanged bracket, a rod passing through thebracket lower flange of the channeled side bar and a second rod bearingagainst the upper side of the upper flange of the side bar.

, 10. Means for attaching a bumper to the channeled side: bar of anautomobile comprising a bracket having a face portion pro-' vided withapertures, a -hooked rod passing through one of said apertures to clampthe bracket to the lowerflange of the side bar, a bolt through anotherclamping the bumper second rod bearing against the upperside of theupper flange of the sidebar.

11. Means for attaching a bumper to the channeled sidebar of a vehiclesaid means,

being provided with two parallel projections lying transversely of theouter face of said bar and a clamping rod for engagingone of the flangesof said side bar at a point intermediate the lines of: contact of saidprojections. i

12. Bumper attaching means consisting of a body plate, plane on oneside, having inwardly'projecting flanges at each end and a vertical bossat the denter, at right angles to saidplate through openings therein,and a rod passing through said boss, said rods being adapted to clampsaid means to the side bar of a vehicle.

13. The combination with a channeled side bar of a vehicle, bracket,rods in said bracket hooked over the lower flange of said side bar and arod in said bracket positively clamped against the upper flange of saidslde bar.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

ERNEST. T. MATHEWSON.

of said apertures to the bracket and-a rods projecting arid hooked overthe A

